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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Feeling conflicted, ngl. I don’t know if this has made me like or dislike Julia more. I understand what Newman wanted to achieve with this book but I think it gets to a point where she loses Orwell’s purpose. Which, to me, turns this novel into a hollow retelling.
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"'Oh, yes. You betrayed me. I remember. They told me about it so many times.’
‘I did. I should like to have saved you, but I had no choice.’
‘Yes,’ he said simply. ‘That’s the horrid thing. One has no choice, and yet one must live through it exactly as if one had."
‘I did. I should like to have saved you, but I had no choice.’
‘Yes,’ he said simply. ‘That’s the horrid thing. One has no choice, and yet one must live through it exactly as if one had."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail
Orwell's 1984 was my favourite book for at least two decades, and one that is still very near to my heart. I was worried that this retelling wouldn't live up to my expectations, but I was happily proven very wrong.
This iteration of the story through the eyes of the complicated Julia is a joy. I was completely immersed again in the world of Airstrip One, in which the reader gets so much backstory and details that we didn't see in the first novel. Julia is shown to be full of contradictions, and therefore very human and easy to connect to as a character. I felt her strength as she showed defiance and resistance to the Party, and deeply felt her weakness when she was seduced by the propaganda and manipulation of her government. The story was so captivating that I couldn't put it down, and I had the most vivid nightmare I can remember while I was reading the Room 101 passage. I unreservedly recommend this book to any 1984 fan!
Final note: To those hating that this book is "feminist" because it's told from a woman's point of view: go touch grass. It's ok to have classics told from other viewpoints, really the world isn't going to end and you can clutch your copy of the original and ignore that this was ever written, it will really all be ok.
This iteration of the story through the eyes of the complicated Julia is a joy. I was completely immersed again in the world of Airstrip One, in which the reader gets so much backstory and details that we didn't see in the first novel. Julia is shown to be full of contradictions, and therefore very human and easy to connect to as a character. I felt her strength as she showed defiance and resistance to the Party, and deeply felt her weakness when she was seduced by the propaganda and manipulation of her government. The story was so captivating that I couldn't put it down, and I had the most vivid nightmare I can remember while I was reading the Room 101 passage. I unreservedly recommend this book to any 1984 fan!
Final note: To those hating that this book is "feminist" because it's told from a woman's point of view: go touch grass. It's ok to have classics told from other viewpoints, really the world isn't going to end and you can clutch your copy of the original and ignore that this was ever written, it will really all be ok.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I prefer this to the original, a fantastic piece of work. You do need to have read Orwell’s original to stay ahead at times.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Had high hopes for this that were probably unreasonably high. I enjoyed the expansion of Julia's character, and there's clearly room for the world of 1984 to continue in a forever war kind of way.